In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks and ricotta. Whisk in the buttermilk, sugar, vanilla and sea salt.

In a small bowl, stir the flour, baking powder, and baking soda with a spatula. Fold into the egg yolk mixture until just combined.

Beat the egg whites in a clean, dry bowl until they hold firm peaks. Fold gently into the batter until just combined. Fold in the berries.

Lightly oil a griddle and set it over medium heat. The griddle is ready when water droplets dance briefly on the surfacc before disappearing. Ladle a scant 1/4 cup batter per pancake onto the griddle. Cook until the undersides are nicely browned, the edges look set, and small bubbles appear on the surface, about 3 minutes. Flip and cook until the second sides are golden brown, about 3 minutes more. Repeat, re-oiling the griddle between batches, until all the batter is cooked. Serve at once with butter and/or maple syrup and/or the spices that bring joy.

*To make your own buttermilk, order the buttermilk culture from : New England Cheesemaking Supply : (413) 628-3808, www.cheesemaking.com.

Whole milk buttermilk is the easiest of the cultured milks. Place 1 quart whole milk and ¼ cup buttermik culture in a glass container, stir well with a wooden spoon, and cover. Keep at room temperature (but not higher that 80 degrees F.) until the milk thickens and curdles slightly. Chill well. Reserve 1/4 to ½ cup in a separate jar in the refrigerator for the next batch of buttermilk..

** Spices that bring joy, according to Saint Hildegard, are cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves.

In a bowl, mix flour, butter and salt until mixture has the consistency of sand. Add egg and part of the water. Knead the dough and add rest of the water a little at a time according to the consistency of the dough. When the dough is homogeneous, wrap it and allow to rest 2 hours in the fridge.

In another bowl, mix butter with sugar and beat until smooth. Add egg, bananas, and mix well. Add first mixture to second one. Add chocolate chips. *(chocolate may be replaced by carob ) Cover the bowl and leave in fridge for 15 minutes.

Pre-heat oven to 375°F (190°).

With a soup spoon, gather some of the dough into 5 by 3 cm. balls and drop on cookie sheets, leaving 5 cm between each cookie. The cookies will spread during baking.